Loop for shoelace utilizing asymmetric pulley

ABSTRACT

A loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley, including: a plurality of shoelace loops mounted to each of eyelet tabs of a shoe using respective rivets, wherein each of the shoelace loops includes: an asymmetric pulley having a pulley groove for guiding a shoelace without allowing the shoelace to be removed therefrom by itself and opposite circular side surfaces provided on opposite sides of the pulley groove, in which a diameter of a first one of the opposite side surfaces is larger than a diameter of a second one; a pulley holder having a structure suitable for sitting the pulley therein; and a rotating pin rotatably mounting the pulley to the pulley holder.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application no. 20-2011-0002816, filed in the Republic of Korea on Apr. 4, 2011, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to a loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley and, more particularly, to a loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley, in which the asymmetric pulley is used in the shoelace loop and a ratchet is mounted to a lower surface of a part of the pulley, thereby allowing a user to easily lace the shoelace in a shoe and allowing the user to easily tighten, tie and loosen the shoelace.

2. Description of the Related Art

In conventional shoes, eyelets are formed in opposite eyelet tabs of a shoe upper or grommets are fixed in the eyelets so as to form a passage for a shoelace or rings are attached to the eyelet tabs using rivets so as to form the passage for the shoelace. Therefore, it is not easy to insert the shoelace into the eyelets, the grommets or the rings of the conventional shoes due to the friction between the shoelace and the eyelets, the grommets or the rings. Further, it is also difficult to tighten or loosen the shoelace of the conventional shoes due to the friction between the shoelace and the eyelets, the grommets or the rings so that it takes quite a long time to insert, tighten or loosen the shoelace. Particularly, the eyelets that are formed in the lowest portions of the eyelet tabs are close to the vamp of the shoe upper so that it is not easy to insert or remove the shoelace into or from those eyelets.

Further, to tighten the shoelace in the conventional shoes, it needs to gradually tighten the shoelace upwards step by step from the portions of the shoelace that pass through the lowest eyelets, the lowest grommets or the lowest rings to the upper portions of the shoelace so that it takes quite a long time to tighten the shoelace and it is not easy to tighten the shoelace in such a way that the shoe fits the foot. To take off the shoes, one needs to gradually loosen the shoelace downwards step by step from the portions of the shoelace that pass through the uppermost eyelets, the uppermost grommets or the uppermost rings to the lower portions of the shoelace so that it is not easy to take off the shoes. Particularly, boots, such as mountain-climbing boots or work boots, make the problem worse.

In an effort to solve the problems, a shoelace loop using a pulley has been proposed. However, the conventional shoelace loop using the pulley is problematic in that it is difficult to insert or remove the shoelace into or from the shoelace loop and when making a knot in the shoelace after tightening the shoelace, the shoelace may become undesirably loose. In order to solve the problem of the shoelace undesirably coming loose, a shoelace tightening piece that is attached to the shoe has been proposed. However, the shoelace tightening piece is problematic in that it is not easy to tighten or loosen the shoelace using the tightening piece and when tightening and loosening the shoelace using the tightening piece, the shoelace may be easily worn by the tightening piece. Further, the tightening piece spoils the appearance of the shoe.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present invention is intended to propose a loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley, in which the asymmetric pulley is used in the shoelace loop so that a user can easily lace the shoelace in a shoe by simply pushing the shoelace into the loop without inserting it and can easily tighten the shoelace only by pulling the shoelace upwards after lacing the shoelace in the shoe, and in which once the shoelace has been pulled and tightened, the shoelace is prevented from undesirably coming loose so that the user can easily tie the shoelace, and which allows the user to easily loosen or remove the shoelace from the shoelace loop.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley, including: a plurality of shoelace loops mounted to each of eyelet tabs of a shoe using respective rivets, wherein each of the shoelace loops includes: an asymmetric pulley having a pulley groove for guiding a shoelace without allowing the shoelace to be removed therefrom by itself and opposite circular side surfaces provided on opposite sides of the pulley groove, in which a diameter of a first one of the opposite side surfaces is larger than a diameter of a second one; a pulley holder having a structure suitable for sitting the pulley therein; and a rotating pin rotatably mounting the pulley to the pulley holder.

Further, the loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley may further include: a ratchet mounted to a lower surface of the pulley of an uppermost one of the shoelace loops so as to prevent the shoelace from coming loose by itself once the shoelace has been pulled and tightened and so as to loosen the shoelace when a lever is manipulated.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley, including: a plurality of shoelace loops mounted to each of eyelet tabs of a shoe using respective rivets, wherein each of the shoelace loops includes: an asymmetric pulley having a pulley groove for guiding a shoelace without allowing the shoelace to be removed therefrom by itself and opposite circular side surfaces provided on opposite sides of the pulley groove, in which a diameter of a first one of the opposite side surfaces is larger than a diameter of a second one; a pulley holder having a structure suitable for sitting the pulley therein; and a rotating pin rotatably mounting the pulley to the pulley holder; and at least one double pulley, that is to say compound pulley, formed by symmetrically arranging two single pulleys, wherein opposite sides of the shoelace pass through the double pulley.

In the loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley, the double pulley may be seated in a pulley holder having a structure suitable for sitting the double pulley therein and may be rotatably mounted to the pulley holder using a rotating pin.

In the loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley, when one double pulley is installed in the shoe, the double pulley may be placed at the second upper shoelace loops that are placed below uppermost shoelace loops, and when at least two double pulleys are installed in the shoe, a first one of the double pulleys may be placed at the second upper shoelace loops and a second one of the double pulleys may be placed at the fourth upper shoelace loops or below the fourth upper shoelace loops, wherein the two double pulleys may be put into place without being continuously placed.

The loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley may further include: two ratchets mounted to a lower surface of the double pulley that is placed at the second upper shoelace loops, wherein the two ratchets prevent the shoelace from coming loose by itself once the shoelace has been pulled and tightened and loosen the shoelace when a lever is manipulated.

As described above, the present invention is advantageous in that the asymmetric pulley is used in the shoelace loop so that a user can easily lace the shoelace in a shoe by simply pushing the shoelace into the shoelace loop without inserting it and can easily tighten the shoelace only by pulling the shoelace upwards after lacing the shoelace in the shoe, and in that once the shoelace has been pulled and tightened, the shoelace is prevented from undesirably coming loose so that the user can easily tie the shoelace, and in that the shoelace loop also allows the user to easily loosen or remove the shoelace from the shoelace loop.

The present invention thus allows the user to save time when lacing the shoelace in a shoe and when tightening, loosening and removing the shoelace. Particularly, the present invention can be effectively used when wearing boots, such as mountain-climbing boots or work boots.

A further advantage of the present invention resides in that once the shoelace has been pulled and tightened, the shoelace is not undesirably loosened so that it is easy to make a knot in the shoelace. The present invention also has a structure capable of preventing the abrasion of the shoelace, thereby increasing the expected life span of the shoelace.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the usage of a shoelace loop according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an uppermost shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the uppermost shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the operation of a ratchet of the uppermost shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating the usage of a shoelace loop according to a second embodiment of the present invention including partial perspective views; and

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the operation of a ratchet of a second upper shoelace loop according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in greater detail to preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the usage of a shoelace loop according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the first embodiment of the present invention is configured in such a way that a plurality of shoelace loops 100 are mounted to each eyelet tab 2 of a shoe 1 using respective rivets 40 so that a user can easily wear the shoe 1 by lacing a shoelace 4 in the shoe 1 by pushing the shoelace 4 into each of the respective shoelace loops 100.

Each of the shoelace loops 100 includes a pulley holder 10 that has a structure suitable for sitting therein an asymmetric pulley 20 used to guide the shoelace 4, the pulley 20 that is seated in the pulley holder 10 and a rotating pin 30 that rotatably mounts the pulley 20 to the pulley holder 10.

The pulley 20 has a grooved wheel shape and includes a pulley groove and opposite circular side surfaces. Unlike a typical pulley that has a symmetric structure in which opposite circular side surfaces have the same diameter, the pulley 20 of the present invention has an asymmetric structure in which the diameter of a first circular side surface is larger than that of a second circular side surface.

In the asymmetric pulley 20 of this invention, the second circular side surface (hereinbelow, referred to simply as the “lower side surface”) having a smaller diameter is placed at a location close to the shoe upper and the first circular side surface (hereinbelow, referred to simply as the “upper side surface”) having a lager diameter is placed at a location remote from the shoe upper. To assemble the shoelace loop 100, the pulley 20 that has a shaft hole 21 at the center thereof is rotatably fitted over a pulley shaft of the pulley holder 10 and, thereafter, the rotating pin 30 is inserted into a pin hole 12 that is axially formed through the pulley shaft of the pulley holder 10 so that the shoelace 4 can be guided by a shoelace guide groove 11 of the pulley holder 10.

Accordingly, to lace the shoelace 4 in the shoelace loop 100, the shoelace 4 is slightly pushed downwards in a state in which the shoelace 4 is being leaned against an end of the upper side surface of the pulley 20 without inserting the shoelace 4 into the shoelace loop 100, so that the shoelace 4 can be seated into the shoelace guide groove 11. Once the shoelace 4 has been seated into the shoelace guide groove 11, it is almost impossible for the shoelace 4 to remove itself from the shoelace guide groove 11 because the shoelace 4 is blocked by the large-diameter upper side surface of the pulley 20.

The bottom surface of the pulley holder 10 which is close to the shoe upper extends beyond the pin hole 12, but the upper surface of the pulley holder 10 which is remote from the shoe upper is recessed so as to form a space that allows the shoelace 4 to be inserted into the shoelace guide groove 11 of the pulley holder 10 through a gap between the pulley holder 10 and the upper side surface of the pulley 20.

The pulley holder 10 is rotatably mounted to an eyelet tab 2 of the shoe 1 using a rivet 40 that is sequentially inserted into a rivet insert hole 13 of the pulley holder 10 and into a locking hole 3 of the eyelet tab 2.

Therefore, unlike a conventional shoe in which, to lace a shoelace in respective shoelace loops, a user must laboriously insert the shoelace into the lowest loops that are close to the shoe upper and must insert the shoelace into the upper loops one by one, the present invention allows the user to easily lace the shoelace 4 into the shoelace loop by simply pushing the shoelace 4 downwards through the gap between the pulley holder 10 and the upper side surface of the pulley 20. Further, the user can easily tighten the shoelace 4 by sequentially pulling the shoelace 4 that is seated in the respective shoelace loops 100 from the lowest loops to the upper loops one by one with the fingers.

Further, when tightening up the shoelace 4, the pulley 20 minimizes the friction between the shoelace loop 100 and the shoelace 4. Further, although the opposite sides of the shoelace 4 pass in opposite directions through alternate zigzag passages that are formed by the shoelace loops 100 that are mounted to the two eyelet tabs of the shoe, the pulleys 20 of the respective shoelace loops 100 allow the user to tighten the shoelace 4 by pulling the opposite sides of the shoelace 4 in the upward direction so that the user can easily tighten the shoelace 4.

When it needs to remove the shoelace 4 from the shoelace loops 100, the user can easily remove the shoelace 4 from the shoelace loops by taking off the shoelace 4 from the gaps between the pulley holders 10 and the upper side surfaces of the pulleys 20 unlike the conventional shoe in which the user must primarily remove the shoelace 4 from the uppermost loops and, thereafter, must laboriously remove the shoelace 4 from the lower loops one by one.

Further, when it needs to loosen the shoelace 4, the pulley 20 allows the user to easily loosen the shoelace 4 from the shoelace loops 100 without forcing the user to laboriously loosen the shoelace 4 by pulling the shoelace one by one from the uppermost loops to the lower loops with the fingers (the operation for loosening the shoelace 4 will be described in detail later herein).

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an uppermost shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the uppermost shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a view illustrating the operation of a ratchet of the uppermost shoelace loop according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the drawings, a ratchet 60 that cooperates with a pawl 62 is mounted to the lower surface of the pulley 20 of the uppermost shoelace loop 100 so that the ratchet 60 can prevent the shoelace 4 from becoming undesirably loose once the shoelace 4 has been pulled and tightened. When the shoelace 4 is pulled upwards, the pawl 62 is pushed aside from the ratchet 60. However, when the shoelace 4 is pulled downwards, the pawl 62 is caught in the teeth of the ratchet 60, thereby preventing the shoelace 4 from being further pulled downwards. Therefore, when the user is tying the shoelace 4 after pulling and tightening the shoelace 4, this shoelace loop having the ratchet and pawl can allow the user to easily tie the shoelace 4 without the shoelace becoming naturally loose.

Further, the ratchet 60 is mounted to the lower surface of the pulley 20 so that the ratchet 60 does not come into contact with the shoelace 4. Therefore, the ratchet 60 does not abrade the shoelace 4 even when it catches the shoelace 4 in order to hold the shoelace.

Further, when one needs to take off the shoe 1, the user unties the shoelace 4 and leans the levers 61 of the ratchets 60 that are provided in the uppermost shoelace loops 100 backwards, as shown in FIG. 7, so that a loosening tensile force is applied to the shoelace 4 from the pulleys 20 of the entire shoelace loops 100 in the same manner as that described in the process of tightening the shoelace 4 and, accordingly, the eyelet tabs of the shoe 1 are open, thereby allowing the user to easily take off the shoe 1.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating the usage of a shoelace loop according to a second embodiment of the present invention including partial perspective views. FIG. 9 is a view illustrating the operation of a ratchet of a second upper shoelace loop according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of shoelace loops 100, in each of which the pulley 20 used for guiding the shoelace 4 is seated in the pulley holder 10 and is rotatably held in the pulley holder 10 using the rotating pin 30, are mounted to each of the opposite eyelet tabs 2 of the shoe 1 using respective rivets 40, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. This second embodiment further includes at least one double pulley 200 that is formed by symmetrically arranging two single pulleys 20, in which two opposite sides of the shoelace 4 respectively pass over the two single pulleys 20 of the double pulley 200.

This double pulley 200 is assembled by seating the double pulley 200 in a pulley holder 50 that has a structure suitable for sitting the double pulley 200 therein and by rotatably holding the double pulley 200 in the pulley holder 50 using rotating pins 30.

When one double pulley 200 is installed in the shoe 1, the double pulley 200 is placed at the second upper shoelace loops 100 that are placed below the uppermost shoelace loops 100. However, when at least two double pulleys 200 are installed in the shoe 1, a first double pulley 200 is placed at the second upper shoelace loops 100 and a second double pulley 200 is placed at the fourth upper shoelace loops 100 or below the fourth upper shoelace loops 100. Here, when two double pulleys 200 are continuously placed, the shoelace 4 may be suddenly removed from the shoe upper so that one needs to put the two double pulleys 200 into place without continuously placing them.

Two ratchets 60 that cooperate with respective pawls 62 are mounted to the lower surface of the double pulley 200 that is placed at the second upper shoelace loops 100, so that once the shoelace 4 has been pulled and tightened, the shoelace 4 can be prevented from undesirably coming loose. When the shoelace 4 is pulled upwards, the pawls 62 are pushed aside from the respective ratchets 60. However, when the shoelace 4 is pulled downwards, the pawls 62 are caught in the teeth of the respective ratchets 60 so that the shoelace 4 can be prevented from being further pulled downwards. Therefore, when the user is tying the shoelace 4 after pulling and tightening the shoelace 4, the ratchets and pawls can allow the user to easily tie the shoelace 4 without letting the shoelace become loose by itself.

Further, when it needs to take off the shoe 1, the user unties the shoelace 4 and leans the levers 61 of the ratchets 60 that are provided in the second upper shoelace loops 100 backwards, as shown in FIG. 9, so that a loosening tensile force is applied to the shoelace 4 from the pulleys 20 of the entire shoelace loops 100 in the same manner as that described in the process of tightening the shoelace 4 and, accordingly, the eyelet tabs of the shoe 1 are open, thereby allowing the user to easily take off the shoe 1.

The function of one double pulley 200 is equal to that of two single pulleys 20. In other words, the one double pulley 200 realizes the operational function of the two single pulleys 20 that are mounted to the opposite eyelet tabs 2 of the shoe 1 using respective rivets. In this embodiment, two opposite sides of the shoelace 4 commonly pass through the double pulley 200 that is placed on the center of the tongue of the shoe upper, so that when the user pulls and tightens the shoelace 4, the length of the shoelace to be pulled can be efficiently reduced.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. 

1. A loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley, comprising: a plurality of shoelace loops mounted to each of a plurality of eyelet tabs of a shoe using respective rivets, wherein each of the shoelace loops comprises: an asymmetric pulley having a pulley groove for guiding a shoelace without allowing the shoelace to be removed therefrom by itself and opposite circular side surfaces provided on opposite sides of the pulley groove, in which a diameter of a first one of the opposite side surfaces is larger than a diameter of a second one; a pulley holder having a structure suitable for sitting the pulley therein; and a rotating pin rotatably mounting the pulley to the pulley holder.
 2. The loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a ratchet mounted to a lower surface of the pulley of an uppermost one of the shoelace loops so as to prevent the shoelace from coming loose by itself once the shoelace has been pulled and tightened and so as to loosen the shoelace when a lever is manipulated.
 3. A loop for a shoelace utilizing an asymmetric pulley, comprising: a plurality of shoelace loops mounted to each of a plurality of eyelet tabs of a shoe using respective rivets, wherein each of the shoelace loops comprises: an asymmetric pulley having a pulley groove for guiding a shoelace without allowing the shoelace to be removed therefrom by itself and opposite circular side surfaces provided on opposite sides of the pulley groove, in which a diameter of a first one of the opposite side surfaces is larger than a diameter of a second one; a pulley holder having a structure suitable for sitting the pulley therein; a rotating pin rotatably mounting the pulley to the pulley holder; and at least one double pulley formed by symmetrically arranging two single pulleys, wherein opposite sides of the shoelace pass through the double pulley.
 4. The loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley as set forth in claim 3, wherein the double pulley is seated in a pulley holder having a structure suitable for sitting the double pulley therein and is rotatably mounted to the pulley holder using a rotating pin.
 5. The loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley as set forth in claim 3, wherein when one double pulley is installed in the shoe, the double pulley is placed at the second upper shoelace loops that are placed below uppermost shoelace loops, and when at least two double pulleys are installed in the shoe, a first one of the double pulleys is placed at the second upper shoelace loops and a second one of the double pulleys is placed at the fourth upper shoelace loops or below the fourth upper shoelace loops, wherein the two double pulleys are put into place without being continuously placed.
 6. The loop for the shoelace utilizing the asymmetric pulley as set forth in claim 5, further comprising: two ratchets mounted to a lower surface of the double pulley that is placed at the second upper shoelace loops, wherein the two ratchets prevent the shoelace from coming loose by itself once the shoelace has been pulled and tightened and loosen the shoelace when a lever is manipulated. 